The company has received an order for a total of 39.6MW, consisting of 22 units of the V90-1.8MW platform for the wind project, La Fé – San Martin in Nicaragua.
The order has been placed by Blue Power & Energy S.A (BPE) and delivery of the first turbines is expected to start in 2011, the company said.
“Having a supplier as reliable as Vestas has made it easier for us to obtain financial closure,” said Joaquin Cuadra L, Blue Power & Energy’s CEO. “ Vestas brought reliability and confidence not only to the banks, but also to the developers. We are very pleased to have Vestas as our wind turbine supplier.”
Marcelo Tokman Ramos, Vice President of Vestas South America, said the company looks forward to supporting the development of wind power in Nicaragua and to building a fruitful and long-term relationship with BPE.
“The fact that they have chosen Vestas as supplier for their first wind power plant reflects their trust in our proven technology, our global experience and our local capabilities,” Ramos said. “Hopefully, this project will lay the grounds for a future cooperation on other projects in the region.”
“With this new project we are taking a first big step in Nicaragua,” agreed Juan Araluce, President of Vestas Mediterranean. “Our positioning in Central America and in Latin America, in general, is clearly reinforced with this order. It directly supports Vestas’ strategy of entering new markets to promote the development of wind power, so that it becomes a source on a par with other energy sources.”
In Chile, meanwhile, Vestas has acquired full ownership of the Talinay Oriente (‘Talinay East’) Wind Power Plant from a local developer. The project is located in northern Chile in the Limari Province.
In a statement, the company said this was a strategic decision to increasing the share of renewable energy sources used to cover Vestas’ energy consumption worldwide and in the countries where Vestas operates, while contributing to reducing the carbon footprint.
The target for Vestas’ energy consumption to come from renewable sources by 2011 is 40 per cent, which implies that the proportion of renewable electricity will have to be increased to 95 per cent at the end of the year.
With the Talinay Oriente Wind Power Plant Vestas will be able to cover all the company’s electricity needs from renewables in 2012.
“Since we took the decision to develop Talinay Oriente, we have already received acquisition offers from several local and international companies interested in this exciting project, which will play an important role in Chile’s future energy mix,” Araluce said.
“We are pleased with the interest created around this project. In case of any potential future sale of the project, Vestas will continue evaluating other investment options to support the achievement of our internal renewable energy targets,” he added.
Vestas has been active in Latin America for the past two decades and in July 2010 it opened a sales and operation office in Chile. The company also has sales and operations offices in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico, and is currently establishing a nacelle assembly facility in Brazil.
As of 31 December 2010, Vestas had delivered to the Latin America region 590 MW; 20 percent of this capacity has been allocated to the Chilean market, representing approx two thirds of Chile’s wind installed base.
Since 1 January 2011, Vestas has signed firm orders in Latin America for 472 MW of new capacity.
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